Orgill Case Study | 17 FOLLOWING THEIR STANDARD PROCEDURE for operational improvements, when CNRG assumed ownership of H&M Lumber Company, they began working through some of the key profit opportunities that could have an immediate impact on the performance of the operation. It is important to note that much of the work at the former H&M location occurred during the first few months following the U.S. outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating extra challenges for the CNRG, Home Hardware and Orgill teams charged with transitioning and improving the operation. One of the first things to occur prior to taking ownership of H&M was to bring in the Orgill conversion team to manage the data conversion from the legacy Ace Hardware system and to work together with the CNRG management team to do a thorough review of the products and product assortments. Chris Freader, vice president of merchandising services for Orgill, says that when his conversion team dives into a project like this, they come prepared to make changes starting on day one, and they have a very strict procedure that they work through to ensure there is minimal, if any, disruption to the business as a result of the conversion process. “The process really starts as soon as the letter of intent is signed,” Freader says. “So even in advance of the closing, we will try to do a space audit, look at every product offering and every adjacency—and look at Operational Updates 04 OPERATIONS
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